Single-expansion plunger pumping-engine



No. 625,900. Patented May 30, I899. AMH. REEDER.

SINGLE EXPANSION PLUNGER PUMPING ENGINE.

7 (Application filed Ju1y 1, 1898.) I (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

No. 625,900. Patented May 30, I899.

A. H. REEDER.

SINGLE EXPANSIONPLUNGER PUMPING ENGINE.-

[Applicatiel l filed July 1, 189B.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

g; y N I 2% Invenior.

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UNITED STATES.

PATENT ()FFICE.

ANDREW R EEDER, OF UNIONTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

SINGLE-EXPANSION PLUNGER PUMPING-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 625,900, dated May 30,1899. Application filed-July 1, 1898- Serial No. 684,948. (No model.)

' To a whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ANDREW H. REEDER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Uniontown, in the county of Fayette and State ofPennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements inSingle-Expansion Plunger Pumping-Engines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a sin gle-expansion plunger pumping-engine,and has for its object to enable steam to be used expansively in a steampumping-engine employing but a single steam -cylinder by providing novelpower-transmitting mechanism by means of which the expansive force ofthe steam is utilized throughout the entire stroke of the piston in suchmanner as to exert an effective propulsive or lifting force on the pump.

In engines generally the purpose of using steam expansively is toutilize the expansive force which steam has under pressure, so as toobtain the full effective force of the steam in the most economicalmanner. In steam pumping-engines this is largely being accomplished atpresent by employing doub1e,triple, and quadruplex expansion engines.Such engines are necessarily complicated and expensive, and it is thepurpose of the present invention to accomplish the same result with asin gle-cylinder ex pansion-en gine,wherein the steam acting byexpansion on the piston in the stealn-cylinder communicates motion tothe piston-rod and through the latter to the pump-plunger. Thepump-plunger,h0wever, 7

works against a constant water-pressure during the entire length of itsstroke, and therefore requires a constant pressure on the piston in thesteam-cylinder to overcome the water-pressure. Therefore when the steamis cut off from the engine-cylinder before the end of the stroke of itspiston the expansive force of the steam diminishes as the pistoncontinues its stroke and at some period during the stroke would beinsufficient to overcome the water-pressure in the pump and the pumpwould stop. I avoid such a result by providing novel mechanism fortransmitting the power from the engine to the pump in such manner as toobtain an increased leverage as the engine-piston travels toward the endof its stroke sufficient to overcome the loss of claimsfollowin g thedescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, form inga part of this specification, wherein Figure 1 is a View in sideelevation of my improved pumping-engine. Fig=2 is a top plan Viewthereof. Fig.3 is a vertical longitudinal central sectional view of theengine cylinder, illustrating the cut-off valve mechanism; and Fig.4.isatransverse sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates the pump, and 2 and 3the pumpplungers. This pump is an ordinary doubleplunger pump of usualand well-known construction, the only especially-designed feature ofconstruction consisting in making one of the plungers larger than theother, as will hereinafter be explained. The plungers 2 and 3 arearranged in the opposite ends of the pump-cylinder, as shown, theplunger 2, which Idenominate the near plunger, being smaller than theplunger 3, which I term the far? plunger. The relative sizes of the twoplungers are shown in the present instance as being as twelve is tofourteen and one-sixteenth. The near plunger 2 is connected by aconnecting-rod 4 to a cross-headfl, which is adapted to reciprocatebetween ways 6 on the pump frame or casing 7, and the far plunger 3 isconnected to two side rods 8,

which are arranged on opposite sides of the pump and are adapted toreciprocate in bearings 9 on the pump frame or casing. The other ends ofthe rods .8 are connected to cross-heads 10, arranged to slide on theways 11.

The numeral 12 indicates the engine-cylinder, mounted on a suitableframe 13, and 14 the piston-rod, which is connected at its outer 16,attached to the frame .13.

end to a cross-head 15, reciprocating on ways Journaled in the frame 13is a rock-shaft 17, on which are rigidly fixed three crank-arms,respectively numbered 18, 19, and 20. The end of the crank-arm 18 isconnected by a pitman 21 to the cross-head 15, and the parts should beso proportioned and arranged that the crankarm 18 will be oscillatedthrough an arc of about fifty-eight degrees at each complete stroke ofthe piston. The crank-arms 19 and 20. being fixed on the rock-shaft 17will of course also oscillate simultaneously with the crank-arm 18through corresponding arcs. As shown, the crank-arms 19 and 20 are fixedon therock-shaft at an angle to one another and on opposite sides of themean vertical center of the rock-shaft-that is to say, as the rockshaftis rocked the crank-arms will respectively approach and recede fromopposite sides of a vertical line passing through the rock-shaft. Thecrank-arm 19 is connected to the cross-head 5 by a connecting-rod 22,and the crank-arm 20 is connected by a connecting-rod 23 to thecross-head 10. I have shown two crank-arms 20, set at the same angle 011the rock-shaft, and two connectingrods 23, attached to said crank-armsand to two cross-heads but inasmuch as this duplication of parts ismerely for the purpose of applying the power evenly to the far plungerand directly in the line of movement of the latter and inasmuch as theseduplicate parts move in unison and practically form a single operativearrangement I refer to them in the singular for the sake of simplicityof description.

The operation of this part of the invention is as follows: Thepiston-rod 14 advances on its outstroke by the direct action of thesteam until point is reached when the steam is cut off from thecylinder, (by suitable mechanism hereinafter described,) after which thepiston will be advanced by the expansive force of the steam alone. Atthe time the steam is cut off, however, the crank-arm 19 will haveadvanced to a point where the leverage on the connecting-rod 22 will berapidly increased, while the speed of the crosshead 5, which isconnected to the near plunger 2, is rapidly decreasing. Hence as thepiston-rod is making its stroke it is exerting through the medium of themechanism described a rapidly-increasing leverage on the near plunger,but at the same time is moving the latter at a rapidly-decreasing speed,and

' in this manner the gain in power due to the increased leverage willfully compensate for the loss of power as the steam expands in thesteam-cylinder. The action is practically the same on the return strokeof the piston, excepting that the far plunger is entering its end of thepump-cylinder, while the near plunger is being Withdrawn. As thepiston-rod moves on its return stroke the crank-arm exerts an increasingleverage on the far plunger through the medi um of the connecting-rod23, cross-head 10, and side rods 8; but as the leverage increases it ismanifest that the speed of the far plunger decreases.

In the practical operation of the parts constructed and arranged asdescribed there will be found to exist a difference in the amount ofleverage on the two pump-plungers as well as in the length of stroke ofthe same. This is owing to the difference in length of theconnecting-rods 22 and 23 and also to the fact that all points in theare described by the crank-arm 20 are more distant from the crosshead 10than is the rock-shaft 17, while all points in the are described by thecrank-arm 19 are nearer the cross-head 5 than is said rock-shaft. Thefar plunger, therefore, has a shorter stroke, but more power than thenear plunger, and for this reason I make the far plunger of greaterdiameter than the near plunger, whereby the amount of water displaced bythe pump on the outstroke of the piston rod will approximately equal theamount displaced on the instroke and will also require the same amountof power to be developed by the engine on both the out and in strokes.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I have illustrated'improved cut-off mechanism forcutting off the steam from the cylinder at suitable points in the in andout strokes of the piston. Referring to said figures, the numeral 12indicates the steam-cylinder, 14 the piston-rod, 14 the piston, and 24the valve-chest. The opposite ends of the cylinder communicate with thevalve-chest by the usual steam-ports 25 and 26, and branching from thelatter are the exhaust-ports 27 and 28, which are adapted to bealternately put into communication with an exhaust-outlet 29 by apiston-valve 30. The piston-valve 30 is adapted to alternately straddlethe exhaust-outlet 29 and one of the exhaust-ports, as shown, and isreciprocated byv a rod 31, provided at its opposite ends with pistons 32and 33, which are adapted to respectively reciprocate in cylinders 34and 35, formed in the opposite ends of the valvechest, as shown. Theouter ends of the cylinders 34 and 35 communicate by steam-ports 36 and37 with an auxiliary steam-chest 38, and the ports 36 37 are adapted tobe alternately placed in communication with an exhaust-outlet 39 by anauxiliary valve 40. The piston-valve 30 and auxiliary valve 40 are ofusual and well-known construction and need not be explained in detail.Both the valvechests are provided with a constant supply of steam.Arranged to slide in recesses 41 and 42 in the bottom of the main-valvechest are cut-off valves 43 and 44, which are adapted ciprocate inbearings on the opposite sides of the valve-chest are two side rods 46,which are connected at their opposite ends to crossheads 47. Fixed ineach of the cross-heads, opposite the ends of the valve-rods 45, arethreaded studs 48, the threads of each of said 1 studs being re verselyarranged to the threads on the corresponding valve-rod. The ends of thevalve-rods are coupled to the studs by right and left handed threadedsleeves 49, whereby by turning the sleeves the cutoff valves may beadjusted to cut oif'sooner or later in the stroke of the piston, as willmore fully hereinafter appear. Fixed to one of the cross-heads 47 is oneend of a connecting-rod 50, (see Fig. 1,) the other end of which isconnected to a pivoted lever 51. The lever 51 at its lower end ispivotally connected to one end of a link 52, the other end of which isconnected to the crank-arm 18. The connecting-rod is connected to thelever 51 below the fulcrum of the latter, and to the free end of saidlever, on the opposite side of the fulcrum, is connected a sleeve 53,that is loosely mounted on the stem 54 of the auxiliary valve 40.Collars or nuts are adjustably fitted on the stem 54 and 'are adapted tobe alternately engaged by the sleeve 53 on the lever 51, and

thus shift the auxiliary valve 40.

The operation of the valve mechanism is as follows: As the crank-arm 18is oscillated back and forth by the engine the auxiliary valve andcut-off valves are simultaneously reciprocated in opposite directions bythe lever mechanism above described. When the auxiliary valve hasassumed the position shown in Fig. 3, the steam from the auxiliaryvalvechest passes behind the piston 32 and throws the piston-valve 30 intothe position shown, the steam behind the piston-33 escaping through theport 37 and exhaust-outlet When the parts are in this position, thesteam passes from the main-valve chest by the port 25 behind the piston14 and moves the latter in the direction of the arrow, the steam infront of the piston escaping through the exhaust-port 28 andexhaust-outlet 29. As the piston moves forward in the direction shownthe cut-01f valves 43 and 44 are moved forward in the same direction,the valve 43 gradually closing the steam-port 25. After the valve 43 hasclosed said steam-port, entirely cutting off the live steam from thecylinder, the piston continues to be moved forward by the expansion ofthe steam, and during this forward movement the valve 44 is withdrawnfrom across the steam-port 26, (the said port remaining closed by thepistonvalve 30,) thus placing said port in readiness for the admissionof steam to the cylinder for the succeeding or return stroke, which willoccur as soon as the piston-valve 30 is reversed. The stems ofthecut-off valves and the auxiliary valve are connected to the actuating-lever 51 on opposite sides of its fulcrum, as has been beforedescribed, and there- 53 on the end of the lever 51 is moved in theopposite direction. Hence at a certain period of the described motion ofthe piston 14 the sleeve 53 will engage one of the collars ornuts 55 onthe valve-stem 54 and throw the auxiliary valve in the reversedirection, thus placing the port 36 in communication with theexhaust-outlet 39 and opening the port 37. The steam from the auxiliarysteam-chest will then be admitted behind the piston 33 and reverse thepiston-valve 30, when the piston 14 will begin its return stroke.

It will be readily understood that by turning the sleeves 49 in onedirection or the other the cutoff valves maybe adjusted to cut oif thesteam from the cylinder at different points during the stroke of thepiston and that by adjusting the nuts or collars 55 on the valvestem 54the movement of the auxiliary valve may in like manner be regulated.

While -I have shown a pump having a far and near plungerarranged onopposite sides of the pump, I do not wish to be understood as limitingmyself specifically to such an arrangement, as it will be manifest thattwo pump-cylinders, each having a plunger, may be arranged opposite eachother in line and the steam-cylinder arranged intermediate the twopump-cylinders, the crank-arm mechanism being interposed between theopposite ends of the piston-rod and the plunger-s, or the twopump-cylinders may bearranged side by side without departing from thespirit of my invention.

I have described my invention as being used in connection withaplunger-pu mp; butit will be manifest that the same could be used toequal advantage in connection with an air pump or compressor.

Having described my invention, what I claim is- 1. Thecombination withtwo independent pump-plungers and their cylinders, of a single-cylinderexpansion-engine, a rock-shaft rocked by the engine, two cranks fixed onsaid rock-shaft at an angle to one another, and on opposite sides of themean vertical center of the rock-shaft, and connecting-rods eachconnected at one end to one of said cranks and at the other end to oneof said plungers, the arrangement being such that as the expansive forceof the steam in the cylinder de creases the respective cranks exert anincreased leverage on the plungers, substantially as described.

2. The combination with two independent pump-plungers and theircylinders, of a single-cylinder expansion-engine, a rock-shaft rocked bythe engine, two cranks fixed on the rock-shaft at an angle to oneanother and on opposite sides of the mean vertical center of therock-shaft, and connecting-rods each connected at one end to one of saidcranks and at the other end to one of said plungers, the

arrangement being such that as the expansive force of the steam in thecylinder decreases the respective cranks exert an inof said cranks andat the other end to one of said plungers, the arrangement being suchthat as the expansive force of the steam in the cylinder decreases oneach stroke of the engine-piston one of said cranks exerts an increasedleverage on its corresponding plunger, substantially as described.

4:. The combination with a double-plunger pump having reciprocatingplungers arranged in its opposite ends, of a single-cylinderexpansion-engine, a rock-shaft arranged intermediate the engine and pumpand constructed to be rocked by the en gine,two cranks fixed on therock-shaft at an angle to one another and on opposite sides of the meanvertical center of the rock-shaft, a connecting rod connected atitsopposite ends respectively to the near crank and plunger, and aconnecting-rod connected in like manner to the far crank and plunger,substantially as described and for the purpose specified.

5. The combination With a double-plunger pump having independentreciprocating plnngers arranged in its opposite ends,of asingle-cylinder expansion-en gine, a rock-sh aft arranged intermediatethe engine and pump and constructed to be rocked by the engine, twocranks fixed on the rock-shaft at an angle to one another and onopposite sides of the mean vertical center of the rock-shaft, aconnectingrod connected at its opposite ends respectively to the nearcrank and plunger, and a connecting-rod connected in like manner to thefar crank and plunger, the far plunger being of a greater diameter thanthe near plunger, substantially as described and for the purposespecified.

6. In a single-cylinder expansion-engine, the combination with thecylinder and valvechest, of steam-ports 25 and 26 connecting thesteam-chest with the opposite ends of the cylinder, branch ports 27 and28 leading from the steam-ports, an exhaust-outlet 29, a reciprocatingvalve 30 arranged to simultaneously open the steam-port 25 and close theexhaustport 27 at one end and close the exhaust-port 28 at the otherend, means for reversing said valve at each stroke of the piston,cut-off valves arranged .to alternately close the steamports 25 and 26,mechanism for operating the cut-off valves, and means for adjusting thecut-off valves to regulate the point at Which the steam is cut off fromthe cylinder, substantially as described.

7. In a single-cylinder expansionengine,

the combination with the cylinder and valvechest, of steam-ports 25 and26 connecting the steam-chest With the opposite ends of the cylinder,branch ports 27 and 28 leading from the steam-ports, an exhaust-outlet29, a reciprocating valve 30 for controlling said ports, means foractuating said valve, cut-01f valves arranged to alternately close thesteam-ports 25 and 26, threaded valve-stems for said cutoff valvesprojecting through the opposite ends of the valve-chest, side rods 46arranged to reciprocate in bearings on opposite sides of thevalve-chest, cross-heads fixed to the opposite ends of the side rods,threaded studs 48 fixed in the cross-heads opposite the threaded ends ofthe valve-stems, the threads on the valve-stems being formed reverselyto those on thestuds, right and left threaded sleeves coupling saidvalve-stems and studs together, and means actuated by the steam-pistonfor reciprocating the cross-heads to actuate the cut-off valves,substantially as described.

In. testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing Witnesses.

ANDREW H.- REEDER.

Witnesses:

o. 1-1. SEATou, WM. SEARIGHT.

